Hello and welcome to the debrief from the business of fashion, where each week we delved into our most popular B.OF professional stories with the correspondents who created them.

I'm executive editor Brian Baskin. And I'm senior correspondent Sheena Butler Young.

From positive to prudish, that's how some are casting the beauty industry's attitude

towards the sexual wellness category in recent months.

The once promising sector that broke taboos and captivated consumers is now facing a wave of

setbacks in the U.S.

Mainstream retailers are pulling back and stricter social media censorship is placing roadblocks in the way of digital marketing.

The result, brands touting sex toys, massage oils, and other bedroom aides are feeling compelled to rethink their approach.

But how can you sell sexual wellness without sex? To answer, we're joined today by BOF Editorial Associate Yola MZizi.

Hello, thank you for having me back.

I'm very excited for our conversation.

I want to take us back a couple years ago.

It was just 2023 when I moderated a panel at our Global Beauty Forum about sexual wellness.

At that time, it felt not tone deaf at all,

but exciting and interesting. The category was having a boom. It was lucrative. Yola, what was

driving that a couple years ago? Yeah. So one thing we first have to understand is that the

sexual wellness category has always existed, or at least has existed for as long as I've been alive.

And it was mostly dominated until now by legacy players like Trojan and Durex.

And all of these players sort of had a few things in common.

A lot of them were focused on the male consumer.

They were very gender normative, and they viewed men as sort of

like active participants and women as sort of like passive recipients in sex in general.

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